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There is, of course, much that is wrong with the IPL ecosystem. The blatant conflict of interest that allows the BCCI president to wear an additional hat as the owner of an IPL franchise speaks volumes about the high threshold for impropriety that is tolerated in India. Another such franchise owner is battling stock market regulators on his shadowy corporate affairs; yet another is using his IPL engagement as a glamorous diversion from his crashlanded airline company.

But all these are symptomatic of a larger Indian failing, and while they scream out loud for a cleansing of the IPL culture, it’s no reason to pull down the entire edifice. It is still a platform for talent-spotting, and retains enormous entertainment value that cannot be taken away by a few charlatans. As cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle observed on Thursday, it’s just as perverse to ask for the public distribution system to be wound down in its entirety because some people abuse it. Read More